Giant alligator with man's body in its jaws releases victim but escapes back into wild

Alligators seem to be getting bigger in Florida; this large reptile was seen walking onto Buffalo Creek Golf Course in Palmetto, Florida.Charles Helms/ Facebook

Police are investigating an incident involving the death of an adult male, whose body was found in the jaws of a monster Florida alligator. Police responded to a call from a Lakeland county resident in central Florida, who witnessed the 8-foot alligator in Lake Hunter, with a human body in its mouth.

The alligator still had the remains of the body when police arrived at the scene, reports the Lakeland Ledger.

"He still had the person," said a police spokesman on the scene. "He let the individual go. The person is deceased."

Because of the condition of the remains, investigators believe the body was in the water for more than a day. Florida wildlife officials were making plans to trap the alligator.

Investigators don't know if the reptile killed the man or found the corpse in the water or on shore. The local medical examiner is yet to make a determination.

Officials still had not identified the dead man. "We don't know who this guy is," said the spokesman. "We think it's a male; other than that we don't really know anything. We'll be looking into, obviously, any missing persons."

Alligators seem to be getting larger in the state and also more aggressive. A Florida man who recently jumped in a lake while fleeing police lost his arm to an alligator. In April, a Florida farmer shot a 15-foot alligator he claimed had been eating his cattle.

In late May, two fishermen discovered a pair of alligators feasting on a dead man in a South Florida canal, on the edge of the Florida Everglades, which led to them being killed. Investigators remain uncertain about how the earlier death occurred and are circulating a drawing of the dead man in an attempt to identify him.